Quebec Flag

The Quebec provincial flag has the name of “Fleurdelisé” and was adopted 1948. The Quebec flag was first flown in the January of 1848 at the Quebec City Parliament building.

The Fleurdelisé has a dark blue background and a big white cross reaches from top to bottom and pole to fly. The white cross is a resemblance of the ancient royal flags in France. Each of the dark blue corner fields is adorned with a fleur-de-lis in its center. The fleur-de-lis is in white color and therefore builds a very nice contrast to the dark blue field. The white fleurs-de-lis with the dark blue background honor the Virgin Mary. These fleurs-de-lis are not related to the golden ones on the banner of the French kings, but a white fleur-de-lis stands for purity and is one of the oldest symbols for the Virgin Mary.

The parts of the Quebecians that are French Canadians always were longing for a very distinctive flag and this desire reaches far back in Quebec’s history. Quebec’s flags that have been used before the current one, most of them have a nickname, are the Parti Patriot Flag and the Elphège Filitrault, also called the Carillon. The Carillon was the predecessor of the current flag.

The Parti Patriote had a tricolor in the colors green, white and red. The Carillon was somewhat similar to the current flag. It displayed the fleurs-de-lis pointing inward, since one design of the flag had instead of the white cross a Virgin Mary in its center. This flag was used till approximately 1947, when a blue Ensign made its way to the flagpole, after Quebec was awarded with a coat of arms from the Queen of England. This province of Quebec flag being very unpopular in Quebec then was replaced with the current flag in 1948.

In 2001 a popular survey from the North American Vexillological Association awarded the Quebec flag best designed flag of all Canadian provincial and territorial flags and the third best overall of the United States and Canadian provinces and territories.
Quebec flags can be bought at anyone of the many flag stores across the United States and Canada. Another source for Quebec’s flag are online retailers that offer flags in many shaped, sizes and even accessories. Quebec flag merchandise such as T-shirts displaying the flag of Quebec, cups, pencils and more are also available for sale online. Pictures of the Quebec flag can be found in many better history books as well as online.